I've only read the first handful of chapters but I assumed the case here was something like she was a scared, young, and overly obedient girl 'dutifully' adapting to a barbaric culture? I mean it's unpleasant but probably makes sense in the context of that world/era/etc.

Right. The only problem is that we're meant to believe she genuinely fell in love with her rapist, to the point that she calls him "my moon and stars" etc. I mean, if that's the story, that's fine, but it changes her character in ways that might not be intended. Even in Season 6, she seems to look back on him fondly.

At the time, so much was made of Sansa "lying" when asked to describe the scuffle with Joffrey. What she actually did was refuse to testify. "I don't remember, it all happened so fast" — barely qualifies as a lie because no one believes her, and she knows it. She refuses to corroborate Arya's story, but she also refuses to corroborate Joffrey's story. She actually sort of removes legitimacy from the proceeding, which might have been my move also, to be honest. This is not 100% honorable behavior, but she was put on the spot (recently awakened, even). Intensely confused about where her allegiances actually are, and what she should do next.

well put JB, I actually never was on the hate Sansa bandwagon, and neither understood why she was disliked by so many, she was a 14 yo girl that was put under tremendous pressure from the start, and all things considered she reacted pretty good at every awful thing that happened to her. Right now she finally has the knowledge and power to make/build her future.

Have you re-watched episode 5 yet? (the wolf and the lion)

I did by pure coincidence yesterday and oh boy, a lot of shit happens that I missed the fist time I saw it.

The conversation between Varys and Illyrio Mopatis that Arya overhears reveals so much, then there's the throne room encounter of Varys and Littlefinger, their scenes where always good.

Arya then tries to warn Ned but unfortunately she doesn't have clear what she heard.

There's also Tyrion, the one that everyone fell on love with, saving Lady Stark from the mountain men attack and then meeting Lysa breast feeding a grown kid.

And the great honest talk between Cersei and Robert, which isn't in the books actually, about their marriage, the realm and his love of Lyanna Stark.

I'm limiting myself to 1 per week, following with the podcast rewatch. But I'll chime in on those things when I get there.

Sansa is not great at this point in the story. She's super immature, kind of self-centered, and not especially heroic. So I understand the dislike to a degree. But the hatred always baffled me. People loved to compare her to Arya, but I always knew Sansa's character would turn out to be more interesting.

This is the scene that completely won me over. How could it not? That look at 1:50 is legendary.

A lot of people don't understand that for a character to have a satisfying arc over the course of a story, they need to start from a point where they then have somewhere to evolve to. I think it's a byproduct of television historically not really being a long-form storytelling medium. It's a fairly recent development that we have a lot of shows in which an overarching narrative unfolds over the course of several years, and characters change and adapt along with the story. People are used to being introduced to a character in the first episode and having that expectation of knowing what that character will be like for the duration of the show.

Currently listening to Hardcore Game of Thrones. It's nothing short of amazing and makes me want to read all the books right now (but I will wait).

Anyway, some random insights:

Aegon Targaryen conquered Westeros with three dragons. Sound familiar? I imagined he had a fleet of them, but nope, just three. With those dragons, he was able to instantly immolate entire battlefields of soldiers, or burn everything inside a castle and essentially melt the stone. Nuclear weapons are an apt comparison. I suspect we haven't seen in the show how powerful Dany's dragons actually are... not even close.

A dragon apparently bonds strongly with one person and won't let anyone else ride it. So the prospect of Tyrion riding a dragon (or Bran warging into one) seems unlikely. But I suppose the rules could be shifting.

Tyrion heritage conspiracy corner! In addition to the evidence I've already brought up ("you're no son of mine" etc.), the timeline is very interesting. Around the time that Aerys Targaryen (the mad king) becomes increasingly interested in Tywin's wife Joanna (in a very creepy and very public way), she gets pregnant with Tyrion. When Tyrion is born, Tywin is devastated, and Aerys is delighted by his suffering.

Aerys later appoints Jaime to the king's guard, which forces him to renounce his title and claims to his family's inheritance. Therefore, Tyrion becomes the new heir to House Lannister. This was done to twist the knife in poor Tywin, but was it also done to essentially corrupt House Lannister with Targaryen blood forever? Seems like a decent possibility.

Not sure this has much practical significance, but it's interesting: Tyrion would actually be the oldest Targaryen. Rhaegar is dead. Tyrion was born before Viserys (who is dead anyway), Daenerys, and Jon (who is Daenerys's nephew).

"That’s what so much of next season is going to be about; finding out what Cersei’s mindset is, and who is she? . . . Who is she, without her children? The answer is something you’ll find out about next season."

"Cersei will do anything to win . . . A loveless Cersei is a fearsome thing."

Well. I just watched this for the first time. All of it. Over the past 3 months and several long work trips where I had 10+ hour flights and I was binge watching an entire season on a flight. I had tried to watch the show once before but didn't get into it, and I knew I had to give it a real chance.

Holy shit.

Watching all of this for the first time in such a short amount of time is mind blowing on so many levels. I've been slowly reading this thread avoiding future spoilers and having practically nobody to talk to after each episode, so the only way was to put on the next one.

I will come back with more to say after I process for a few days. I'm so sad I'm caught up now, both because now I have to wait many months, but also because we are so close to the end.

Wow, I can't imagine watching it that way. There's so much to absorb in a single episode. I can see how that would be overwhelming.

Most of the "future spoilers" are just speculation or obvious stuff. Since you're caught up, there's probably not much to worry about.

Do you agree with us that Season 6 is probably the best? I just rewatched Season 1, and it was a little rough around the edges... a handful of cringey moments that are completely absent from recent episodes. (Mainly the sexposition.)

I haven't been able to decide which season is the best yet. Season 1 is definitely not my favorite as I wasn't that interested or connected to the characters, and Ned Stark dying was obviously a big shocker. It makes you realize that nobody will ever be safe.

Season 6 is when things finally come together. Everything moves slow in general (you really notice when you are binge watching), like when the dragons are born and someone says "it will be many years until they are fully grown" and I knew I would have to wait a long time to see them doing what they are doing now.

The characters finally meeting or reuniting is such a huge part of this show, and for many seasons (Red Wedding being one of the biggest) it feels like it will never happen, so Season 6 definitely starts paying off in different ways. Getting rid of Ramsey, Frey, High Sparrow, etc means a lot of loose ends are being tied up and we are heading full steam into the final chapter.

It's been awesome reading the forums slowly as I went through the episodes, because even though there were a few spot in predictions, the majority of speculation is very far off and I love how this show has been able to continue surprising us even when it feels like we know what will happen. I'm already bummed I can't keep watching.

Well. I just watched this for the first time. All of it. Over the past 3 months and several long work trips where I had 10+ hour flights and I was binge watching an entire season on a flight.

Samesies. I've spent the last few months on plane embarrassing myself with involuntary cheers, gasps, and screams as I sipped on cheap airline wine and binged through this bastard. One benefit of binge watching is you get to bypass stupid controversies and over-analyzation from recap culture, which I think is starting to ruin TV. Although, I am excited to watch the final season(s) with the rest of the world and join the conversation.

Season 6! By far the best, although I don't think there has been a bad season. The "Winds of Winter" joins Breaking Bad's "Face Off" and "Half Measures" as my top 3 favorite hours of TV ever. OMG that haunting piano score in the opening sequence before Cersie does you know what! (Sorry I'm still on a high from finishing season 6 last night).

I love love love everything about this show. Now I'm excited to dig through this thread and see what you boys have been arguing about.

Yeah, Season 6 for sure. It ended with two transcendently great episodes. They would stand up to any other show on a list of best TV episodes of all time, surely.

I don't think 5 would be anyone's favorite season. It's... problematic... as we discussed here at length. And yet, it ends with 3 of the best GoT episodes ever, including "Hardhome" and "The Dance of Dragons."

I rewatched Season 1 a few months ago. It doesn't necessarily have a lot of replay value, actually. It has lots of character introductions that are not particularly enlightening the second time around. The sexposition can be hilariously over-the-top. And the production value is not quite all there yet.

But honestly... The great thing about GoT is that there aren't really "bad" episodes or seasons. It mostly just all flows together.

The network would not specify whether the series would be prequels, sequels, spinoffs or companion series to GoT — or all of the above — only noting that each project would “explore different time periods of George R. R. Martin’s vast and rich universe” in his epic fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire.

GoT creators/executive producers Dan Weiss and David Benioff, who are finishing up the upcoming seventh season and already are in the midst of writing and preparing for the series’ eighth and final season, are attached as executive producers on all projects alongside Martin but will not be involved in the writing. The four potential GoT offshoot series will be written by:

HBO stresses that all four projects are in development. There is no set timetable for them, and they will be evaluated when the scripts are completed.

It is logical to assume that the network would like to have a new GoT-themed series launch behind the final season of the blockbuster mothership show.

HBO brass had hinted about trying to expand the popular GoT franchise with additional series, including a possible prequel or spinoff. Martin, who is under an overall deal at HBO, also had been alluding to new projects he has in the works at the network.